Romans 10:8 in 8 translations
8 distinct wordings, grouped by what each translation is trying to do. Differences from the King James text are marked below.
Early modern English
Seventeenth-century wording and sentence shape. Familiar, rhythmic, and the version most quotations you have heard are taken from.
But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
1611 / 1769 · Public domain · The Authorised Version, revised to the 1769 Blayney text. Includes the Apocrypha as printed in 1611.
Literal, word-for-word
Follows Hebrew and Greek word order and grammar closely, even where the English becomes stiff. Useful for seeing what the underlying sentence is doing.
But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach:
1901 · Public domain · The American revision of the English Revised Version. Deliberately literal, and the base text behind several later translations.
But what says it? The word is near thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach:
1890 · Public domain · John Nelson Darby's translation, made for close study rather than public reading. Often exposes grammatical detail other versions smooth over.
But what doth it say? `Nigh thee is the saying--in thy mouth, and in thy heart:' that is, the saying of the faith, that we preach;
1898 · Public domain · The most extreme word-for-word rendering here, keeping Hebrew and Greek tense and word order at the cost of natural English.
Modern English
Contemporary vocabulary and punctuation, aiming for the sentence a present-day reader would write while staying close to the source.
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart”; that is, the word of faith, which we preach:
2000s · Public domain · A modern-English update of the ASV. Reads close to contemporary speech while staying in the literal tradition. Includes the Apocrypha.
No, but what does it say? ‘The message is near you, on your lips and in your heart’ (which means ‘The Message of faith’ which we proclaim).
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · A modern open-licensed translation, still being completed. Some Old Testament books are not yet available.
No, but what does it say? “The message is near you, on your lips and in your heart” (which means “The Message of faith” which we proclaim).
in progress · Public domain (CC0) · The Commonwealth spelling edition of the Open English Bible. Identical wording to the US edition apart from spelling.
Simplified English
Built from a deliberately small vocabulary so the sense stays reachable for new readers and non-native speakers. Trades nuance for clarity.
But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart: that is, the word of faith of which we are the preachers:
1949 · Public domain · Written with roughly a thousand basic English words plus a small Bible vocabulary. The plainest reading available here.
What changes between the King James and modern wording
The modern rendering is printed below with every word that differs from the King James text marked, so the actual divergence is visible rather than left for you to spot.
But what does it? say? The word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
Word-for-word swaps
- saith→does
- thee→near
- thy→your
The verses either side
King James text. A comparison is easier to judge when you can see the sentence the verse sits inside.